Cascade hydropower stations short-term operation for load distribution considering water level synchronous variation

The load distribution of cascade hydropower stations is associated with the safe operation of the hydropower stations and power grids. The conventional load distribution of cascade hydropower stations does not consider the synchronous operation of the water level. The inconsistent water level variation process of cascade hydropower stations is not conducive to the safe operation of hydropower stations and power grids. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of equal reservoir full storage rate (ERFSR) to guide the load distribution of cascade hydropower stations. In addition, hydropower is used for new energy consumption considering the advantages of the rapid start-stop in hydropower units. The load distribution model of cascade hydropower stations is established, and three cases are set to verify the universality of the proposed model in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The results show that (1) The concept of ERFSR can effectively guide load distribution and realize water level synchronization of cascade hydropower stations. (2) The output process of each hydropower station can be basically consistent with the load process to achieve synchronous peak shaving. (3) New energy consumption has little effect on the daily water consumption of downstream cascade hydropower stations.